ActionCOACH Client Testimonials

I met Ed in 2018. We’d spoken about my business, my goals and aspirations for it as a small “one man” credit brokerage and how I saw the exit from the business going in 10 years time. My business was always a “lifestyle” organisation, revolving around my personal life. I worked out of a shed with one part-time document processor and me. The commute was easy but the room for expansion in a 5m x 3m glorified shed was minimal! A quick coffee and chat with Ed challenged me to think much more deeply about the possible outcomes for my business as a “one man band” and made me quickly realise that I wasn’t an organisation and had little to sell by way of a fully-formed business in 10 years time.

I’ve now been coached by Ed for 12 months now. Business, well, you wouldn’t recognise what I’ve done with my business life from 12/18 months ago.

I have started a new company with a co-director to share growth responsibilities.

On top of that, we have two sales agents and a further two employed sales-people. We added a further processor to handle the increased levels of documentation and processing, which has taken our organisation from 2 to 8 people in total.

We now have a Vision, Mission and are working on a Culture statement for the business and a fully fledged business plan is in place which we work towards on a regular basis.
As a result our turnover has almost doubled in the last 12 months. From £165k to £305k.

I really value Coaching – there is very little room to hide so you have to be prepared to be honest with your coach and yourself. Having been accountable to no-one but the wife for 11 years, to having a business coach to challenge my every assumption and decision has been invaluable. I thought I had all the tools I needed to roll over in to retirement and sell my business for a hefty sum. What I’ve come to realise is that being coached helps me to identify areas of personal development which I need to help me get to a better outcome more quickly. Without a coach, I dare say I’d have found answers eventually, but with Ed, he mentors and coaches me to get me to find the answers for myself more quickly.

I still find it enlightening that in a room full of 80+ business owners who can range from funeral directors, carpenters, IT consultants to finance brokers, we all have common issues that need addressing. We are each others greatest resource and ActionCOACH provides the environment for that meeting of minds to come together.

My eyes have been opened to the possibility of what is achievable with growing an organisation that runs itself, without me in it. Don’t get me wrong, if you come to our premises today, I am working harder than ever - but that’s a short-term trade off I am prepared to make at this point in my business life. Add to that a period of investment in staff, premises and systems and I’m right now earning less than I have for some time, but that too is OK, given I have the confidence that the investment right now will yield much bigger income in years to come! That said, I have a clear end-point to work towards that I know, WHEN we get there, I am confident I will have a finished business, with a market value, that I can then choose to sell or stay on in. One year in to a ten year business plan, I have never felt more engaged with my organisation. Coaching has taken me here more quickly than I could have ever imagined! Ed is an endless source of books, advice, forms and inspiration. If you have an open mind and are prepared to be challenged in all your pre-conceptions about running a business, Coaching could be the key to unlocking massive potential in your business.

Richard Causon, Causon Business Finance

A huge thank you to Ed for all your help recently, helping me to get my plans in place and deciding where to apply myself in my business.

I admit I was struggling with direction and found your coaching to be both motivating and effective.

I have tried many coaches, courses and "gurus" in the past but your calm, empathetic and positive encouragement has given me the motivation and confidence to make difficult choices.

Ed, you have gone way above and beyond what would have been expected of a coach and I can't thank you enough. I can safely say you're the best coach I've ever come across.

I'm really looking forward to the future, I now get excited about work again and can't wait to share the success with you.

Damien O'Dwyer, Business Growth Midlands

Have you ever gone on a journey? Route is planned, SatNav set, tank filled and you have a wee bag of sweeties for the journey. You set off enjoying the view with the certainty of knowing where you are going and when you will arrive. Sorted.

Then after an hour you come to a huge sign saying diversion, road blocked and suddenly you find yourself driving down some country lanes discovering villages and places you would never have seen had it not been for that diversion.

Going on Ed Cooper's ActionCOACH courses is a bit like that. You start off on the journey thinking yes, we know what we are doing, just need to cross the T's and dot the I's.

However, you may be there because you have hit a bit of a roadbloack and suddenly begin to explore alternatives... the diversion.

As you drive along this diversion you discover things you had never thought of. You begin to see there are alternatives. You can also realise that maybe you and your business partner weren't both 100% happy with the original journey and just wanted to keep the other one happy and go along with it.

That happened with Gordon and me. We thought we had it sussed but Ed opened our eyes to alternatives and helped us explore what we really wanted our journey to look like and plan the final destination we are both happy with.

We continue to work with Ed and are loving our minds being opened to new ideas with the support of an amazing tour guide.

We thank you so much.

Sue Still & Gordon Brown, Utility Warehouse

Wellbeing4Life has existed for 7 years and in that time, we have tried business coaching a couple of times. Each time we hoped to work with a Coach who challenged our
thinking, made us accountable and taught us new ways in which we could run our
business for maximum results. Whilst we always started feeling excited and open-minded we always ended up disappointed and ended coaching within a few months.

Until we met Ed! We began working with Ed in January and from the start it felt different - he has delivered on all three requirements and more. Ed had the ability to empathise and truly understand our challenges so we feel understood and heard, whilst at the same time not taking any of our so called 'excuses' for not getting stuff done!

At the start of each session, we often feel a little overwhelmed or deflated but every
single time we finish 90 minutes later feeling fired up and excited again about our
business which takes us through the next 2 weeks. We have a new perspective on our
challenges, we’ve learned something new, we’ve been made accountable which has ensured we deliver - well most of the time!

As a result of working with Ed for almost 11 months we have more clients, we have a
more efficient way of working together, planning and prioritising and we have a new
clarity on where we are headed. Ed has offered additional support during particularly
difficult times and is always willing to go above and beyond for us - it genuinely feels like we have a third business partner as invested in our success as we are, but with an objectivity not possible for us to have.

Ed is now firmly part of our team, and we would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone. He is genuine, knowledgeable, tough when needed, and always supportive.

Sharon de Caestecker & Elain Crewe, Wellbeing4Life

Since beginning to work with you around 12 months ago, our business has gone from strength to strength, more than tripling its turnover from year 1 to year 2 and increasing profits around 800%!!

Developing a team and building a business has been incredibly frustrating, hard work and a steep learning curve for someone of my character, but it has been massively rewarding - and you have been a big part of that.

The focus that you have helped me develop personally, and the challenges that you always push back on to Em and myself, have allowed us all to develop and move the business forward, much quicker than if we had been trying to do things on our own.

The ActionCOACH formulas, which are the numbers that we now run our business with your knowledge and experience of working within a team environment, have been a huge factor in our success.

In the "dog-eat-dog" world of estate agency, we are the only cold-start, self-funded agents which have set up within the last 3 years that are still operating after 12 months of trading in the city itself, and I'd like to thank you for being a part of this journey with our team at the Property Fox.

John Ghent, The Property Fox

Ed, I wanted to write and express my gratitude for your recent help and advice with helping my business navigating the murky waters of the Government Grant schemes - – I had thought that we weren't eligible for any further schemes so welcomed your patient advice. Your guidance and help has saved me both time and hassle in what could have been an extremely difficult and frustrating process.

Furthermore, your additional help and advice regarding other aspects of my business has helped focus the mind and have given me a clearer perspective at at time when clarity is much needed on both a professional and personal front. Kindness isn't necessarily the first quality associated with a business coach yet it is one you have in abundance.

I can't thank you enough for your help, diplomacy and encouragement. Your knowledge and head for figures enables business owners to see the wood for the trees, make clear plans for the future and make sure their business gives them more life.

Annie Rea MCSP, Natural Elements Physiotherapy & Natural Health Clinics